Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Together with Simeon and Anna, we contemplate the Christ Child, the Word made Flesh, who is brought to the Temple. That Temple is not just the physical building, but also the Temple of our hearts. Into our hearts is where Christ is also presented, and it is up to us to open our doors and let His radiant light in.
Today, exactly forty days after the Lord’s Birth, we celebrate the coming of the Light of the World. Today we ponder the Holy Family, walking up the steps of the Temple, being greeted by Anna on the left and Simeon on the right. Both Simeon and Anna embody Israel in their patient expectation. They acknowledge the infant Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Also, Joseph and Mary are bringing Jesus to us, today and every day, hoping we will embrace and love their Son. This is not just, as they say, “a one-off opportunity.” They present their Son to us every day of our lives and every day we have to choose whether we will open the gates of our souls to let Christ’s radiant light shine in.
Let us pray. “Lord Jesus, as an infant you were brought to the Temple by your parents out of religious duty. Help all parents take their duties to God seriously, to inculcate their faith in the next generation by their words and by their actions, so that the faith will be handed on where the faith is first learned—in the family and in the home. In your Holy Name. Amen.”
For more: (the connection between today’s Feast and Groundhog Day): https://www.ihmcatholicparish.org/february-2-groundhog-day-candlemas-feast-of-the-presentation-of-the-lord/
For even more: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/february-2-presentation-of-the-lord-feast/
